Starting Host | Looking to Increase Reservations

[Henri1064]

Hi Everyone!

I am a new host and am trying to get more bookings without decreasing my price so low that I would be concerned with the type of guests I might get.

I am trying to understand how difficult it is to get your first few bookings with 0 reviews, then once I get "Superhost" status, how much easier it will be to get bookings. 

One of the data points I can currently help to try and understand how much visibility I am getting which should lead to booking is the first page search impressions and page views. My stats for the last almost 2 weeks is here: 

Average First Page Impressions: 863

Average Page Views: 114

Bookings thus far: 1

First Page Search Impression Rate: 40%

Average Search to Listing Conversion 13%

Any commentary on how hopefully reservations snowball based on 5-star reviews or help understanding average stats for the above would be greatly appreciated!

I think the listing should be solid enough for conversions but I intend to add a pool soon given competition in the area it seems like a must. Listing below if anyone is keen to check it out and thanks in advance! 

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1090601588966571857?check_in=2024-04-02&check_out=2024-04-05&guests=1&a...

[Rebecca]

HI there @Henri1064 👋

Lovely to have you here and thank you so much for posting on the Community Center. Here's a great post about how to make your listing more competitive. 

I'd also like to invite @Cheri354, @Karen4131, @Calvin173 and @Guy991 to join the conversation and share any advice they may have. 

Thanks so much in advance 🙏

[Cheri354]

Hi~

I think the description and photos are great! I like that you state how many minutes the property is from popular places; this is helpful info for out of town-ers like me 🙂

While I don't have anything to add from this venue listing, I wanted to suggest: 'don't put all your eggs in one basket'.. Connect with your local Chamber of Commerce, Ads and Promotions board and any other tourist associations. Ask to be added to their brochures, referral program, Christmas advertising. Is there a tourist list of places to recommend ? Get on that ! Introduce yourself to the Lion's Club, Elk's group, Rotary Club...any other service groups. Volunteer, help sponsor a kid's back to school event, read at the Library, donate a night's stay for a church Bazaar or Club event, be a guest speaker for a meeting (talk about starting up a business, paying taxes, finding a cleaning team, running an airbnb, what it's like getting a pool installed in the area; anything of interest that humans can relate to). You don't have to join these groups to be a guest speaker. You will be building up a community reputation and also your bnb info will be circulating.

We list on airbnb but also get the bulk of our traffic from 'friends of friends', relatives of our friends, coworker referrals, church family events like weddings and graduations.

Word of mouth is a great way for guests to find you 🙂

Best wishes~

[Rebecca]

Hi @Henri1064 👋

have you seen @Cheri354's comment below? It would be great to know if it's supported you with increasing some reservations! 

Looking forward to hearing from you,

Rebecca 

[Karlis3]

Hi @Henri1064 ,
Congratulations on starting out on airbnb!

(1) What I can say from my experience - the first 30 days after launch are of MAX importance! These days airbnb gives your listing a SEO boost - do not waste them, you have to have as much interaction with travellers as you can! The algorithm has to see that your listing is interesting and people click and spend time looking.
With more interest & clicks & adding to favorites & messages to you also naturally should come bookings.

(2) If you are wondering about SuperHost - it definitely IS possible to achieve it in the next 3 months (SuperHost evaluation happens every quarter, just fyi). And being a SuperHost definitely helps you to stand out amongst competitors. But be aware - being a superhost means you have to DELIVER accordingly. Start acting like the best host out there already now and the travellers will see you, the algorithm will see you. And bookings will come.

(3) In my experience, I launched in mid January and in less than 3 months (by 31.03.) I had the SuperHost criteria completed.
What I can add is that I did launch very close to High-Season in my area, so there was a demand from tourists for a nice, family place to stay.

(4) SUMMARY
The time of launching is VERY important + the first 30 days when Airbnb gives you SEO boost.
Try your best to reach SuperHost. It is not like bookings just keep dropping in out of nowhere, but it does help afterwards to stay on top of SEO.

Happy Hosting,
Karlis 

[Calvin173]

Loved what you said on topic 1. Don't waste your time when it comes to the SEO boost time Airbnb gives you, that's for sure!

[Karen114]

@Henri1064  Beautiful listing with great pics.  Florida can be slow this time of year.  What i try to do with my rates in addition to using Price Labs, is try be be on par with a nearby hotel.  We are not hotels and we have a lot more to offer than a 300sq foot hotel room.  So if a guest can compare a hotel stay with your place for the same price or maybe just a little more or less they can justify it.  I think your price is fine for sleeping 8 guests.

The only other thing is you need to be more granualr with your outdoor camera description, ie what they record, when they record, where they are pointed etc.